 |
|
Title: On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren (Center Books in Anabaptist Studies)
ISBN: 0801870895
Author:
Donald B. Kraybill
Carl Desportes Bowman
Publicate Date: 2002-09-03
Publish: 2002-09-03
List Price: $18.95
Average Customer Rating: 3.5
Format: Paperback
 |
|
|
|
|
Amazon Lowest New Price: $11.21
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $8.13
Amazon Merchant Price: $17.05
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Customer Review: |
|
1: The best book on some of the most interesting peoples around
As a person always curious about lifestyles different from my seemingly mundane existince in suburban Melbourne, the Amish and Old Order Mennonites, with their resistance to technology and extremely gentle and peaceful beliefs, have always fascinated me.
Although other books, such as the "People's Place" series, actually offer a good deal of useful information about specific topics relevant to the Old Order Anabaptist groups, "On the Backroad to Heaven" is the best general work I have read about them. It goes into very good detail into the character and nature of the Hutterites, Old Order Mennonites, Amish and Brethren, including all the aspects that are well-known but also some of their rituals and methods of electing leaders that are little-known yet intriguing (e.g. the use of "lots"). More than that, "On the Backroad to Heaven" not only characterising them but also offering clear and easy-to-read comparisons. At the same time "On the Backroad to Heaven" shows not traces of trying to idealise these groups and expresses very clearly the problems they have coping with a modern world that is in many ways very hostile to the values they hold dearly. Its last part clearly shows how far removed they are from a "postmodern" culture, but yet shows what they have to offer thereto.
On the whole, this is really good work. It is neither biased nor shallow, yet is extremely accessible. I would recommend it to anybody interested in cultural studies, even if not in Anabaptist groups.
|
2: A good finish, misses a few points
The book does a good job of surveying the four groups, and finishes up very strongly when considering the similarities in the groups.
The contrast between the Mennonites and Amish is also very interesting. It is also perhaps the most accurate portion of the book--although he picked some fairly liberal old order Mennonite groups to describe. It would have been a little better to have picked a more traditional Mennonite group.
It is perhaps at its weakest when describing the old order German Baptist Brethren. There are some very embarassing inaccuracies, including garbled German Baptist vocab (referring to family devotions as "taking the text"--a term that refers to the main sermon on Sunday for example) and considering certain very exceptional cases to be representative (a GB cheerleader, who he doesn't reveal had a parent outside the church). The glaring omission in the German Baptist section has to be that down to details such as order of worship and attitude they are extremely similar to the old order Amish--so much so that the two have cooperated on education in the past.
I also found the section on gender strife among the Hutterites to be a little overstated. Hutterites wouldn't see the conflict the way Americans do, or the way the authors do.
Enjoyed it a great deal.
|
3: All things considered, a decent work
As the subject line suggestions, I consider this is a fairly nice piece of work. The author does a good job of giving an overview of the four different Old Order groups covered in the book.Though the author was slightly slanted in favor of some of the Old Orders (Brethren & Amish mainly), this book had neither the rose-colored fluff or scathing condemnation of other publications. There was a description of what worked, what didn't work, what was pious and what was wrong with all four groups. I would like to have know more intricate detail of each of the group's theology rather than a few snippets of scriptural interpretation and comments from church fathers. I do, however, understand that this book is more of a sociological survey than a theological analysis. The last few chapters did engage in a repetitious rehash of what has already been covered. I also did find a few typographic errors that didn't get caught by the editor. Final analysis: If you are new to studying any of these groups, this could certainly would play as a good jumping-off point for further study. If you need to get a quick overview of the groups mentioned, this would also serve your purpose. A more thorough study, however, will require additional reading and research.
|
4: Lacking overall, but decent intro to 4 Old-Orders
I found the first few chapters interesting in which the authors profile each of the 4 featured Old-order groups. However, the editing was distracting because the same point was made multiple times in each chapter (in addition to a couple typos). The last couple chapters compare and contrast the 4 groups, but not much new is added I didn't already get in the first chapters. I wish they had touched upon the more progressive branches in each group, comparing Old-order to more modern counterparts, but there was almost no mention of them. Also, the few facts I did know about Old-Orders before reading this book were not discussed (if these are common misconceptions and not facts, they still deserve space in this book). I still give it 3 stars because I was very interested in the descriptions and brief histories of each group.
|
5: Amish, again and again
Donald B. Kraybill has either written or been a co-author to about 22 books at last count. Most have been about the Old Order Amish and I wonder why? It's always the same old thing, they're misunderstood and they want to be left alone(except when they need a phone or van to ride in). They won't serve in the military because of their beliefs and shy away from the English(everyone not Amish)law because maybe they have something to hide. They bann, excommunicate, and shun anyone who leaves this backward, traditional cult to find a better life. Why so many books on the same old subject? I was hoping for something more realistic because newspapers have confirmed they have problems and there's no way that these poeple can all be so good. I want to read the truth, the facts, the real story, not the HOLLYWOOD version of the Amish. Please, tell it like it is and don't tell any more stories on the so-called "American Heritage." I gave this book 3 stars because it is informative and educational and I believe that D.B.Kraybill is a good writer, but just excludes certain facts. Whatever the reason, he might believe he's their protector.
|
|
|
|
|
